Whispered Confessions
by Satire and Prose
Summary: Naruto Uzumaki has always lived a loud existence; Everything from his nindou-inspired promises to his bright clothes. However, in the stolen moments of breath stealing tranquility, it's the whispered confessions that seem to speak the most to him. NaruHina, KibaSaku, other pairings tba. Future lemons, so kiddies beware
1. Cold Feet

Marriage was kind of a big deal, even Uzumaki Naruto knew that, even despite the fact that somehow-between both Kakashi and Jiraiya-he never had a figure in his life to install this into his brain. It was just a fact that was so obvious that even he automatically grasped it.

First, there was the whole proposal thing, what with the really expensive ring and the worry and the general _angst_ over what your girl could possibly say to the most complex simple question known to mankind. Add in some more angst and then you get your favorable (hopefully) answer.

Then, there was the actual wedding, which sounded fun, in theory. A kick-ass party with good food, a huge cake and all your precious people, plus your new in-laws, gathered all around you...

...But, as Sakura so aptly demonstrated (and constantly reminded them all in very loud words) there was secretly a ton of stress in planning weddings-not to mention a terrifying condition known as 'bridezilla', which Shikamaru had muttered under his breath seconds before Sakura attempted to gouge his eyes out with her chopsticks.

Dresses, flowers, seat planning, chicken or salmon... Suddenly, and for no logical reason that Naruto could see, these were all very important details that had to be carefully coordinated to perfection...or else.

Emotions ran high with sudden mood swings and bridezilla madness spreading from bride to the bridesmaids (who knew insanity was contagious?). And then, once every single detail was planned out and executed perfectly, you only had to spend forever together.

Naruto made a face as he tugged hopelessly at the orange noose around his neck, fumbling to tie it into at least a loose semblance of the shape it was supposed to be. He could hear the rough bark of laughter from Kiba, mixed with Choji's deep jovial voice, floating through the small gap of the almost closed doorway; his lips twitched up in an automatic response. But it was short lived, the crawling butterflies in his stomach reminding him of their presence as they crawled up his throat; a nauseating combination when mixed with his inner turmoil and the half digested ramen he had eaten for lunch.

How was it that he seemed to be the only one who was nervous? It wasn't even his wedding for crying out loud!

He let out an aggravated sigh, running his hand through his already disheveled hair (effectively ignoring Ino's less then vague threats of bodily harm if he dared to mess up his hair after she had worked so hard-and had to run, in curlers mind you, to the nearest convenience store to purchase super duty plus hair gel-to work his rebellious locks into submission and style) before attacking his tie again.

Over loop, under loop pull? Or was is under then over or was that just how you tied your shoes?...

Then again, maybe his nerves made more sense than if he hadn't had any. After all, what did he know about weddings and marriage? Hell, what did he even know about romantic relationships in general? Everything he knew he had learned from Jiraiya a la the Icha Icha Series; but Sakura had thoroughly assured him that they weren't love stories but _love_ stories, no matter what Kakashi-sensei so passionately insisted. And that left him...

...well, no where but incredibly lost; a fact he begrudgingly admitted, tucking the ends of his loop-sided tie under his shirt, hoping it would pass by unnoticed; maybe he'd get lucky and it would escape notice.

"Knock, knock?" a soft, familiar voice interrupted as she stuck her head in, eyes scouting the near empty room.

Naruto grinned at Sakura through the mirror's reflection.

"Hey! You're not supposed to be here," he teased, turning towards her, "Bad luck, or whatever..."

He trailed off, the words dying in his throat as the door swung open and she stepped into the room. He blinked at her.

Sakura looked positively radiant, but then again, was there any other way to describe a bride?

Bangs surrounded her lightly colored face (Ino really was an expert at what she did) as cream colored roses were pinned to the top of her head, taking the place of her ninja head band. Gauzy fabric stuff-that he couldn't name even if he tried-made up straps that hung almost off of her shoulders while the beaded top lead down to a poofing waist line; for a brief moment, Naruto almost regretted that he had told Kiba (when asked about it) that the dress looked like Glinda the Good Witch had a crack child with an overly frosted cupcake draped in lace.

Sakura shrugged, clearly less than repentant.

"Since when did you even believe in any of that superstitious stuff?" she asked.

"Besides, it's only bad luck if Kiba was in here to see me..." she continued, her eyes flickering to the door, more specifically, the sliver of space that remained open, allowing her fiance's boisterous laughter to once more echo out into the conjoined room.

Naruto grinned as she eyed the fixture suspiciously, crossing the room to close the door before turning to study her once more.

Well... he may have had a point about the dress being a bit over the top rather than the designer 'masterpiece' that Ino had insisted (rolling her eyes and huffing_ "Men!"_); it was more the entire picture-despite the dress-that made up what he considered to be the _real_ masterpiece. The idea and the situation and her green eyes sparkling at him from beneath tilted eyebrows as she studied him back.

"It's not a bow tie."

Naruto blinked. "Huh?"

Sakura grinned at him in amusement.

"It's not supposed to be a bow tie." she repeated, gesturing at the orange mess that hung uselessly around his neck.

He grimaced, hands automatically flying up to tug at the silk material impatiently.

"Idiot..." she muttered fondly, stepping forward to take over the task when the hopelessness of the situation became almost immediately obvious. Expertly, she twisted the rebellious orange material into a knot before smoothing it down, ignoring that it still crinkled beneath her hand; remements of his previously failed efforts. She glanced up at him through her darkened lashes.

"Kiba has a bow tie..." Naruto sulked, cheeks red in embarrassment as he conveniently forgot to mention that he has also informed Kiba that bow ties were for waiters and trained monkeys.

"He is?" she asked, a blush rising hot on her cheeks as her eyes flashed at a memory that caused her color to deepen.

Naruto decided not to ask; chances were that he really didn't want to know what she was thinking about if it could cause that sort of reaction.

She shook her head slightly.

"Idiot..." she muttered again, this time towards her fiance hidden in the next room, her smile growing softer.

"Are you doing okay?"

Naruto blinked, eyes squinting as he grinned down at her.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" he asked, rubbing the back of his head, further mussing up his gel infused hair. "You're not getting cold feet, are ya'?"

"What? No!" she said, mock scowling at the blonde, gently elbowing him in the stomach. "We kunoichi are made of sterner stuff than you shinobi. We don't know the meaning of the term 'cold feet'."

Naruto nodded, studying her. It was tempting to rise to the bait, to fall back into the teasing camaraderie that enveloped the remaining members of the original Team Seven (plus Sai, on one of his 'emotional' days) but he had to ask her... he had to make sure...

"What if he came back?"

There was no need to clarify who 'he' was, they both knew who he was talking about.

Naruto wondered if he was being selfish, asking this question now just minutes before she would be walking down the aisle. Maybe it was something he shouldn't be asking at all, period. But he couldn't deny that part of him (the small forgotten part of him that childishly wanted to believe that everything would one day go back to 'normal') desperately wanted to hear her answer.

For closure? For some reason he doubted that was really why he was asking this, now... Maybe it was just that he simply wanted to be positive. Oh, sure, Kiba was one of his closest friends but Sakura was... well, Sakura. His teammate, best friend and sister all rolled into one. He didn't want her to be unhappy a year or two from now, wishing someone had asked her this question as she wondered how her life could have turned out...

...Even if deep down, in a place they never never dared to voice, they both knew that 'he' was never going to come home.

Sakura's smile softened as she shook her head. "Not even then. I love Kiba."

"You loved Sasuke." he pointed out.

Her smile became sad. "I still do."

Naruto furrowed his brow. It was official, he was confused, a fact he eloquently alliterated with a well placed. "Huh?"

Sakura rolled her eyes.

"There's more than one type of love." she explained falling into her lecture mode out of ease of habit, poking him in the forehead.

"I know _that._" he scowled lightly. After all, there was love for your friends, your village, ramen... "But, if you love Sas-..."

"I love him." Sakura firmly interrupted, "I love him like I love a friend. But, I'm _in_ love with Kiba... And I want to spend the rest of my life with him."

Naruto nodded, even if part of him didn't quite get it.

It was a strange concept to him, spending your whole life with someone. He had only recently began to have people in his life, after all. Forever seemed like such a foreign idea to him, even if he couldn't deny a certain...longing for just that.

Dammit, he was starting to sound like a girl.

He mentally gave himself a small shake, trying to erase pessimistic thoughts like his brain was a giant (or at least he liked to think it was giant) etch-n-sketch board. He had people, he reminded himself; a rag-tag family made of awesome'ttabayo. He had Kakashi and Iruka-sensei, Baa-chan and his friends. And, even if she was getting married, he still had Sakura.

_"But that's not the love you were thinking of..." _a soft voice hissed in his mind.

He promptly ignored it; he _really_ was starting to sound like a complete girl. He could just imagine what the guys would say if they could hear him.

Lost in his (manly) thoughts, Naruto didn't register that Sakura had moved until her small fingers laced with his, causing him to jump at the unfamiliar contact. He curiously glanced down at their joined hands.

"I'm really..." Sakura said, her voice uncharacteristically soft as she deliberately blinked her misting eyes, determined not to let the moisture fall. "I'm glad you're here, Naruto."

He wondered if she felt the small tremor that ran down his arm at her words as he struggled to find his own. His near signature grin stretched across his face.

"I wouldn't be anywhere else."

* * *

a/n.

The second chapter is already being worked on. Depending on reviews and interest (and possibly what's being featured on Shark Week), it will be up sometimes late this week or early next week.

Reviews are love.

Cheers!


	2. Bouquet Allergies

Do I really need to place a disclaimer?

* * *

If asked, Hinata would be the very first person to admit that she did not exactly know a lot about weddings. Whether the question was about the ceremony alone, the vows or even just about general wedding information, she was hardly the person to ask.

It wasn't that she didn't care, it was just a simple fact of the matter; she just knew very little about weddings past the usual childhood day dreams that she and all girls-whether they were training to become deadly kunoichi or other wise-entertained, growing up. And, to be perfectly honest, it wasn't as if those long ago play dates spent 'planning' could be considered all that realistic...Well, unless Ino suddenly managed to find the rainbow unicorn that the blonde had once claimed she would ride down the aisle to her hokage boyfriend (her faceless, nameless childhood romance before the academy, where she discovered the Uchiha who would become her first 'real' crush).

Then again, maybe her lack of knowledge was really something she should not have been so surprised by. Before Kiba asked if she would 'maybe perhaps consider' being a bride's maid for him and Sakura (as if she would even 'maybe perhaps consider' telling them no for so much as a second), Hinata never really had a need to learn the necessary steps that lead up to a couple saying 'I do'.

Somehow, despite her rather large, extended family, Hinata had only once before been to a wedding; back before she had even been enrolled in the academy. Furthermore, it wasn't exactly like she remembered all that much from her second cousin's long ago nuptials. And, the few events that she did manage to hold on to really had nothing to do with the wedding itself.

Her mother had been alive at the time, and pregnant with Hanabi. She could remember her mother holding her hand as she was warned against fidgeting; Advice that Hinata had been severely tempted to ignore as the traditional, not to mention _long_, ceremony wore on and the crowded family shrine grew heavy with the sweet scented smoke of incense. Even Neji looked like he had been fighting not to nod off.

Then, after the couple drank from each others' sake cup and exchanged rings, Hinata had been very confused as to why the groom had not been asked to kiss the bride. Neji merely scowled at her question (he often scowled at her back then) and called her an idiot; Everyone knew that it was improper to kiss in public.

As the family gathered outside the shrine to issue their congratulations to the newly weds, she had also been disappointed that they were not handed rice to toss at the couple for luck, as she had always imagined would happen at a wedding. But after glancing at her father's perpetually stern frown and her cousin's remaining scowl, she decided against asking why that was.

And... That was all she could remember; Not exactly the most useful of information.

Simply put, that left Hinata feeling complete lost and utterly unhelpful when she and the girls gathered to assist in the planning; another fact that she awkwardly managed to confess to Ino (the self appointed wedding-and love-expert and the bride appointed maid of honor), Tenten and Sakura. The pinkette, however, shushed her worries. She wasn't the only one who was tossing kunai in the figurative dark, but pick up one of the check lists anyway; They would all figure it out quickly enough.

Six months later, and after a thousand shared, dog eared bridal magazines (that Ino snatched up the instant they hit the stands and shared with the group, after combing through them herself); A hundred lunch dates that were supposedly only for wedding planning and a few dozen borrowed romance novels (all supplied under the table by an equally secretive Tenten-and read under her covers with bright red cheeks-) Hinata could not help but wonder if maybe Sakura was wrong about her figuring 'it' out as they went.

Thank the spirits that Ino not only seemed to know what she was doing, but picked up on Sakura's bridezilla fever. Fairly quickly off, Hinata and Tenten learned that the blonde and pinkette duo weren't asking their opinions on their thoughts as so much as they wanted someone to agree to what they said. It seemed to work out better that way in Hinata's problem (minus a few snags along the way from the bride and her headstrong best friend, that always seemed to end in tears and hugs) because, even after all the 'study material', what did she honestly know about weddings?

Hinata happily dabbed at her eyes, smiling through unshed tears as she watched Kiba and Sakura-for lack of a better word-dance. Barely avoiding the other couple's on the dance floor, they spun around and around. Lost in a world of their own, they were completely unaware of their surroundings and their impromptu audience as they focused solely on each other.

Kiba was grinning down at his new bride, leading their 'dance', while Sakura clung to him. She was laughing, breathlessly, even as she tried to mock-scold him for making her dizzy. Her laughter only seemed to encourage him.

He pulled Sakura closer, leaning in to whisper softly in her ear before trailing his lips down her exposed neck, prompting a slew of cat calls from around the reception hall and a long wold whistle from someone standing near the food table.

Hinata chuckled, her pale eyes flickering away from the intimate display out of habit; her eyes trailed away, over the other guests. She wasn't the only one laughing at the playful couple. There was just something about the two of them, the way that the both seemed to be so intoxicated on each others' mere presence, that affected the crowd since the moment Kiba first saw Sakura appear at the end of the aisle. Hinata's fanciful side liked to think that it was their feelings that were contagious from the 'I do's' earlier that sun kissed afternoon to the bow covered reception hall.

If love was tangible, then it was here. From Ino laughing as Kotetsu flexed for her and Izumo rolled his eyes at his friend's antics; To Kurenai's cake covered daughter, Asu, standing on Shikamaru's feet while he lead them through a lazy two-foot shuffle, much to the four-year-old's giggling amusement; To Tsunade taking full advantage of the open bar-she was not the only one, either-while comforting a crying Shizune, who clung a well dressed Tonton to her chest in place of a tissue.

Shizune, too, was not the only one in the crowd who had been moved to tears.

"Dammit...!"

Hinata blinked in surprise, turning in her seat to glance at the bun wearing woman next to her. "Tenten? Are you alright?"

The brunette leaned her forehead on her inelegantly propped hand, continuing to mutter choice words underneath her breath.

"...Um, what?"

Tenten further hunched her shoulders as their small group turned to watch her awkwardly trying to cover half her face with her hand. "...These things always get to me..."

"What always 'gets' you?" Sai asked, his vague smile not even shifting from it's habitual position on his face.

Though, Hinata did note that even his eyebrow raised as Tenten slunk in her chair until she finally slipped under the table.

"Nothing gets me." She muttered back, the small catch in her voice audible even though her voice was muffled from her new position.

Neji snickered.

"...S'not funny." Tenten sulked.

"I beg to differ." Neji said causing Shino to chuckle, swirling his sake cup in silent amusement.

Hinata grinned as Tenten loudly huffed. She wondered if she should let Tenten know that she wasn't exactly threatening when her anger was followed up by sniffling. Probably not; Even in a short, tailored party dress, the weapon's mistress was probably carrying enough pointy metal to stock a small armory. And, even if by some off chance Tenten wasn't carrying anything on her, Hinata's seen what the brunette could accomplish when armed with only simple silverware. It wasn't pretty.

"You are aware you're attracting more attention to yourself by climbing under the furniture, right?" Neji asked when she didn't pop back up.

Tenten gave a short, chocked laugh as she sniffled. "Yeah, well if anyone asks, just tell them I'm drunk or something."

"You are, of course, assuming that I will admit that I know you."

One hand popped out from the table as Tenten flipped him off before she began to feel along the table cloth; Her fingers skirted around the half empty plates and discarded soup spoons as she blindly searched the surface.

Shino snatched up the bottle of sake before she had a chance to knock it over. He moved it away from her, setting it down between him and Choji's currently vacated seat.

"Here." He said, handing his napkin down to her.

Tenten murmured a meek thanks, loudly blowing her nose. She sniffled some more before hiccuping softly, only then did she finally reemerge, nose blotchy and eyes rimmed pink-glowering, in all her disheveled glory.

"Better?" Hinata asked before she could stop the question.

The brunette eyed her, the corner of her lips twitching despite herself as Tenten haughtily replied, "Much."

"And thank you, Shino." she continued, offering his napkin back to him with a sheepish grin-he stared at it for a second for politely declining with a small shake of his head-. "It's nice to know that some people can still manage to be gentlemen."

Shino chuckled awkwardly at the round about compliment, prompting Hinata to direct her knowing grin on him. His cheeks slightly tinged at her look as he tugged at the unusually low collar-in comparison to his usual outfit, this new length was utterly indecent-of his button up shirt, tilting his exposed chin down.

Neji raised an eyebrow at Tenten. "Really?"

"Yep. Now can we just-..."

"OI! Tenboy!" Anko suddenly shouted, causing Hinata to jerk-Neji sighing at the loud noise-in surprise at the sudden interruption. Hinata wasn't so much surprised that someone had randomly jumped into the conversation. After all, she wasn't oblivious to the large number of...energetic?...people that helped make up their ragtag group of friends-let alone all the...energetic..people that were simply in Konoha-that is was really only a matter of 'when' someone would jump in rather then a matter of 'if'. However, that being said, Anko was one of the last people that she had expected to jump into the conversation; The Snake Jounin was several tables away, at a table with Kakashi and Iruka, who was busy trying to coax her back into her seat. Kakashi was, to his credit, was one of the few people this side of the reception hall that managed to ignore Anko's shouting as he calmly read his signature novel.

"...-Get back to...the..oh, _dammit_..." Tenten swore again, watching Anko waving her arms, flagging the bunned brunette down.

"I believe that Mitarashi is trying to get your attention." Sai cheerfully said, though Hinata thought he might have been being slightly sarcastic.

Shino leaned back in his chair, his glasses flashing as the overhead lights caught the lenses.

"Is she? I hadn't noticed." He teased, his lips twitching despite his teasing tone.

Hinata, however, ignored both of them, frowning as she glanced at Tenten, who-also ignoring the men-resumed her glowering.

"...Is something wrong?" She asked as Tenten loudly groaned. She had expected that sort of reaction from Neji (Though, to be completely honest, she was a bit surprised that he had not tired to step out, already. He may not be as anti-social or negative as he had been when he was a child, but he certainly was not the most enthusiastic party goer), but certainly not from Tenten. Especially not when it came to Anko.

Somehow, a few years ago, Tenten and Anko randomly began talking to each other, or at least it appeared to be random to outsiders-with those two unpredictable kunoichi, one could never be certain. Not that the vague details didn't stop an underground betting pool from springing up when the duo went from bragging to yelling to spars; Kiba-to his loud disapproval-ended up losing a fair amount of money after they both stormed off in draw. But, from that chaotic moment of bets and threats, the duo managed to forge a weird sort of relationship from beating each other bloody. Almost like they became student and mentor, only with more black eyes, name calling and black eyes.

It just seemed like their round about way of communicating, in Hinata's silent opinion. Why else would they continue their now weekly spars?

...Though Kiba may have had a point when he once called them masochistic sadists...

Anko pulled a fake pout, sticking out her bottom lip dramatically as she theatrically traced her pointer finger down her cheek.

"Oh..."

So that was why Tenten's was glaring at her mentor. The brunette had made a name for herself as a tough as nails kunoichi, she had to. She wasn't a member of a shinobi clan and she had never been interested in learning the healing arts; To find her way in their world, she trained through sweat and blood to earn the title Weapon's Mistress at a young age. Even if her close circle was aware that she religiously read her horoscope, or that Hinata knew where she kept her secret stash of romance novels, Tenten did not like showing what she considered to be a weakness.

And crying, from her at least, was a weakness.

"Oh, shut up!" Tenten shouted back, half rising to her feet as the color on her cheeks drastically darkened.

Anko laughed at the unspoken threat, causing even Kakashi to momentarily glance up at the sound of her cackling.

"Bitch." The brunette muttered, folding her arms across her chest with a huff. "...I'm so kicking her ass, Tuesday."

Neji laughed, lifting his sake cup to his teammate. "Cheers."

* * *

Naruto inhaled deeply, slowly savoring the spicy scent of shichimi on udon mixing with the sweet smell of green tea daifuku; A medley of delicious smells from the buffet table rising up to tease him, even from his unfortunate position three feet away and stuck behind Choji and a group of genin. Normally, it may have been an odd mix, but somehow with the zesty and sweet smells from the normally incompatible dishes mingling together smelled like heaven to him.

Then again, the fact that he hadn't had anything to eat since his brunch chicken ramen (microwave chicken ramen) might have helped with that. He was starving.

Shouldering his way past the pre-teens genins, Naruto barely took a second to survey the large spread before he began to grab everything in reach. The wedding had been sweet-as he had described it, despite the fact that he had been swiping his sleeve at his eyes towards the end-and the reception was fun. The food, however, was awesome.

Naruto moaned happily as he popped a datemaki roll into his mouth, grinning through a full mouth. Delicious. "Ommmmmm..."

"I don't think that you're supposed to be eating here." Lee said, looking over Naruto's shoulder.

Choji chuckled stretching over to grab a few datemaki rolls. "But it's a great endorsement."

"Ahh whash hest hesshing eh..." Naruto slurred through the half chewed food.

Lee pushed slightly between him and Choji, also reaching for the datemaki. "What was that?"

Naruto swallowed, still grinning. "I was just testing it."

"More like tasting it." Choji teased.

Naruto blew off the teasing with an easy shrug as he resumed piling his plate with all the different food available.

For some reason, Sakura had vetoed his ramen catering suggestion, fairly early on. In his opinion, she really didn't give his idea a fair chance (Sakura had never really had much faith in his connoisseur knowledge when it came down to food-cited his bachelor lifestyle as reference) but everything she did have tasted really good. He'd have to ask CHoji later if it would be rude to ask to take home a doggy bag. After all, good free food wasn't exactly something that fell in to his lap everyday.

"Tasting, testing, whatever. Point is it's good and I got it." Naruto declared with a smug grin as he snatched up the last few prawn, causing the genin next to him to sulk.

"I'm heading back." he said, forcing his way backwards through the group of genin.

"Hold on; I'll go with you." Lee said, as Choji gave them both a small wave before getting back to serious business, making the genin groan as they watched the Akimichi.

Naruto snickered as they made their way across the crowded reception hall.

Lee paused for a moment, as their table came into view. He reached out to grab one to the rolled up sleeve of Naruto's button up shirt.

"...What's wrong with Anko?" He asked, watching the Snake Joinin cackling as Iruka pulled her back into her seat, the chunin's face bright red.

Naruto shrugged. He didn't know Anko all that well, but he knew enough to know that when she started laughing it was time to get the hell out of her way or start praying that a cup magically appeared to protect your balls. He was pretty sure that every male in Konoha knew that simple fact, shinobi or otherwise...Well, except Lee. Naruto wasn't sure if it was just because Lee was he type of guy who believed in always being a gentlemen around women that made him blind to some of Anko's less... desirable charms, or if it was the fact that the Green Beast was just excited that Tenten 'finally had a mentor off her own!'

Either way, he wasn't about to go over there. Call him a coward if you must, but he'd let Iruka and Kakashi deal with a snickering Anko; He was going to eat his prawn.

"Forget Anko." Naruto said, eyeing Neji, who was also laughing, wearily. He sat down next to Shino, scooting his chair closer to the Aburame to give the He-Hyuga a large berth. "I'm more worried about what's wrong with Neji."

Neji rolled his eyes, his face falling back into it's habitual bored expression.

Lee sat down next to Tenten, "Did we miss something?"

"No," Tenten sniffed quickly, looking away from Lee's questioning gaze.

"Tenten is crying." Sai cheerfully informed them, reaching over with his fork to try and stab at the daifuku on Naruto's plate.

"Huh?" Naruto scowled, blocking Sai's 'attack'. "Wait... Why is Tenten cryin-...Hey! Go get your own you bastard!"

Sai smiled, ignoring his outburst, continuing to poke at his plate.

"Really? But I read somewhere that good friends share food with each other." Naruto blinked at Sai, furrowing his brow. Really? "As for Tenten, she has, ahem, 'allergies'."

"You don't have allergies." Lee said, happily eating his food without a creepy teammate trying to mooch off his plate-though, when Naruto thought about it, the argument could be made that Lee was the weird guy on his team-. He glanced over Tenten, holding her red face in her hands, his mouth forming a surprised 'o' shape. "Oh...! I mean, right. Your 'allergies'..."

She groaned.

"I thought we were telling people that she was drunk." Shino said causing Hinata next to him to give a short laugh, hiding her mouth behind her hand as she giggled.

Naruto blinked at them, watching the two present members of Team Eight laughing together feeling a bit lost. "Huh?"

"Ah yes; She's drunk." Sai amended, his smile still unwavering.

Tenten looked up at her table, scowling. "Get bent."

Lee wagged a finger at her, grinning. "Now Tenten. That was not very nice."

"It wasn't supposed to be."

"Now, now, Lee. I'm sure it's nothing that a little 'Springtime of Youth' session wouldn't cure." Neji blithely added.

Tenten grabbed a cherry tomato off of Naruto's plate-"Oi!"-, throwing the vegetable at Neji's head.

The Hyuga easily caught it, snickering as he tossed it into the air to catch in his mouth.

"Hey! No food fighting!"

Naruto grinned, jerking his head up to smile at Sakura approaching the table, flanked by Kiba and Ino...Mostly Sakura and Kiba, Ino was too busy shooting his hair dirty looks. If there was one thing that he'd learned was that Ino was way too serious about her self-declared maid of honor duty to make everything perfect or that she hated his hair... Possibly both.

Oh, who was he kidding, he realized taking in Ino's perpetually stylish look. It was probably both.

Twisting her arm around Kiba's waist, Sakura leaned into him, she teased, "I'd really hate to have to kick your ass if you got something on my dress."

"Anything else, you mean." Ino said, smoothing a hand down her own pale pink dress. "I'd say that Kiba got you pretty good with the cake, earlier."

"Yeah, but I got him back, so we're even."

"For now, maybe..." Kiba murmured, leaning in to nip at her neck eliciting a soft giggle from Sakura.

"Stop it." she admonished, slapping him on the arm. He didn't listen.

"Oi... Some of us are trying to eat. Get a room!" Naruto teased with a snicker, grinning as Sai was finally distracted away from his food.

"I plan to." Kiba muttered as he continued to nip at his new bride causing Naruto to roll his eyes. Sakura flushed pink at his words, swatting him on the arm, again.

"Whaaa? Already?" Ino asked. "But... You haven;t even tossed the bouquet, yet!"

"Actually, that's why we came over here." Sakura said, gently elbowing Kiba back when he didn't stop. "I'm going to throw it and then we're going to head out."

Ino squealed (causing Naruto to wince. What was it lately that prevented her from keeping it on a human decibel?) as Lee protested loudly, whining that he only got to dance with the bride twice. The blonde dashed off, saying something about informing the band as she went.

"You're leaving already?" Shino asked, a small smirk pulling at his face. "Shouldn't you stay to talk a bit longer, Kiba?"

Kiba scowled. "Shut your mouth. I wanna start my honey moon." he declared, pulling Sakura's arm back towards the dance floor.

Sakura shook her head, allowing Kiba to pull her a few steps away.

"You girl's coming?" she asked.

Hinata shook her head as Tenten scoffed, lightly.

"If I want flowers, I'll take home one of the centerpieces." the brunette declared.

Sakura laughed. "That actually might be the smart thing to do. I've already had a few people asking about the bouquet. Shion wanted to know if I was right or left handed so she could figure out where to stand."

"Yeah, but that' wasn't nearly as threatening as Anko." Kiba said. "She kept telling Sakura she better not throw to Hana just because they're related, now."

Tenten perked up in her seat, causing Neji to groan. "Anko said what, now?"

Kiba snickered, shaking his head. "Well, technically what she said was 'Pinky better not toss to Dog-Girl'..."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "She's just lucky that Hana wasn't there when she said that."

"I don't know..." Shino murmured, leaning back in his chair, a smile spreading across his face. "That might actually be interesting to see..."

Naruto looked up from his plate, smirking as Kiba glowered.

"Shino, you perv." He snickered, scooting his chair over as Choji finally returned to the table.

Tenten leaped to her feet, slapping her hands down on the table.

"That bouquet is mine!" she declared.

Kiba gave a rough bark of laughter as Sakura rolled her eyes again, pulling him out towards the clearing dance floor. "Yeah, okay. I'll see you out there, Tenten."

Neji smirked at his teammate.

"What about your, ah, '_allergies_'?" he asked.

She laughed, smirking widely, "What can I say? It must be the Spirit of Youth running through my veins or something."

Lee cheered loudly, picking up a stray cup and downing it before leaping to his feet. Grabbing Tenten's arm he yanked on her, running towards the gaggle of girls gathering around Sakura; Tenten rotating her shoulders, Lee cheering her on with chants of youth.

Neji chuckled, before lifting his cup to his lips.

"...Dammit Lee..." he muttered, standing up.

"What's wrong?" Hinata asked her cousin, frowning slightly in concern.

"He just drunk sake." he grumbled walking towards the bouncing Green Beast before he disappeared into the crowd.

Naruto laughed. It was probably a good thing that Sakura and Kiba would be leaving soon, if Lee just drank sake. He was a hell of a guy to have a at a party, if he didn't start breaking things after about thirty seconds. Though, if he was being completely honest, Naruto was a little worried about what Ino would do to Bushy Brows if he started breaking things... Probably just break Lee back.

"Almost ready?" Naruto heard Sakura yell out, laughing as all the women began to jostling for what they thought would be the best place to stand.

Shino sighed, looking down at Hinata. "Are you sure that you don't want to join them?"

Sai nodded sagely. "Social convention does say that unmarried women should try to steal the bride's flowers as a sign of good luck for their own unfulfilled relationship issues."

Naruto blinked, raising an eyebrow. "Huh? Social con-wha'?"

"Social convention says that sad, lonely women need to... You know, now that I think about it..." Sai mussed, tilting his head to the side as he studied Naruto. "You could use some of that luck. Go catch the bouquet, Dickless."

Naruto chocked.

"What was that, you asshole!" He shouted, feeling his face heat up as Choji and Shino openly snickered next to him; Those bastards. He quickly glanced around the table, eyes settling momentarily on a flushing Hinata. It was bad enough that he had to make those comments around the guys, but around one of the girls? They talked with each other, and that wasn't exactly the type of comments he needed spreading amongst them. Mentally groaning, he glared at Sai. He was going to kick his ass the second Ino was out of sight.

"Shut up." he hissed.

"It is probably best that Naruto doesn't." Shino murmured, still smirking. "I saw Anko doing Hammy stretches. It would not be wise to get in her way."

Choji chuckled as Naruto shot the Bug Boy a dirty look. "I dunno. I think I'd be more worried about Ino. She's been eyeing that thing since Sakura first told her she was getting married."

Hinata smiled as she leaned her cheek on her hand, causing her hair to fall over her shoulders. "Definitely not worth going out there."

Naruto reached across the table, grabbing the sake bottle. He snickered lightly. Apparently he wasn't the only one who had noticed Ino going wedding crazy.

"She's got the right idea." He said, pouring himself a small cup. "The smart thing to do is to give up on love, Hinata." He mused, wincing as he watchde one of the girls grabbed a handful of someone's hair and give a mighty yank.

Ouch.

Shino stiffened next to him, the action noticeable since he was actually out of his usual overcoat.

Yeah, definitely the smart thing to do; Those women out there were getting down right vicious, screeching as the bouquet arched through the air.

"Dammit, Anko! That's cheating!"

"So what, Meatball Head!"

"Tenten, _No_!"

"Tenten, _yes_! For youth!"

"Get _off_ me, Yamanaka!"

Sai sighed, breaking the silence. "Hmmm... Well, either way, there goes your chance. Mitarashi caught it." he pointed out as her loud crowing washed over them.

Choji groaned as the jounin pushed her way through the crowd of women. Her lip bruised and hair mussed out of it's style, Anko strut away from the muttering group, smirking. "Alright, boys! Single file line! No pushing, no matter how much you want me!"

"Man, Ino is not going to be happy..." He moaned, shaking his head. "Fuck."

Shino sighed heavily, standing. "They will be turning the music on again...Hinata?"

Hinata blinked, looking up at him from the table as she swallowed.

"D-dance? Oh, I really don't-.." she brokenly murmured, causing Naruto to curiously glance over at her, frowning. She had never been the most confident of person-though why that was, he had never really been sure-but she hadn't stuttered in years.

Shino calmly extended his hand. "Don't dance." he finished for her. "That is okay, I don't dance, either. Shall we?"

She hesitated for a moment before nodding, taking his hand.

Puzzled, Naruto watched them walk off, studying Hinata in her pink bride's maid dress. "Huh... I wonder what's wrong with her. She seems weirder then usual today."

Choji turned in his chair, shaking his head. "Naruto. You're an ass."

* * *

a/n.

I am so sorry that this chapter is so late! This last month has felt like nothing but a long series of unfortunate events. On top of that, even when I had time to write, I had felt a bit put off by the lack of reviews. I think I might be a bit vain and insecure when it comes to my writing, though, I think that might also be rather common amongst more writers-not that vanity is really an excuse for tardiness...

I had a hard time with this chapter. I rewrote this several different ways and I still don't like how it turned out. For some reason this chapter just frustrates me. I like the dialogue, I don't think the characters are terribly out of character... I don't know what it is. But I digress.

The next chapter will feature some NaruHina fluff...finally.

Reviews are love.

Cheers!


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